Harry's Future

Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Harry sat in a comfortable chair on the portico of his, or more accurately his family's, new home. It was the Saturday of their first weekend in the house and shortly visitors were due to arrive for the house warming. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were already there, having come early to help with the preparations. The food was, of course, being handled by Mrs. Weasley and Kreacher with promised supplementation from Angelina. Harry did what he could but after a short while it was suggested he just relax and maybe get ready to greet the guests as befits his role as lord of the manor. 

He didn't mind very much at all, although he thought the 'lord' comment was a bit over the top. Since the move was completed the previous Tuesday afternoon, Harry had come home each afternoon when his classes were over. He found the view from the portico very enjoyable. He could look out over the lawn and flowerbeds or lift his gaze and see the hills rising away from the meadow further out. The sun was warming the late April morning and Harry let his head rest on the chair back as he closed his eyes and just listened to the various sounds of birds and insects. 

He wasn't sure if he had drifted off but the swooshing sound of broomsticks definitely caught his attention. He opened his eyes in time to see Bill and Fleur, each astride a broom land in the front yard. Little Victoire was visible over Bill's shoulder, having made the trip in a back pack style carrier on her dad's back. Her flying outfit included a small hat and pair of goggles. She was waving frantically to her 'unc 'arry'. 

Harry smiled as he stood up and walked down the steps to meet them. Hand in hand, Bill and Fleur walked up the path towards Harry. Fleur handed her broom to her husband and then approached Harry with arms wide. 

"Good morneeng, mon frere. Oh, 'arry. The 'ouse is très manifique, truly magnificent," she said as she wrapped Harry in a tight embrace before bestowing the traditional two kisses on the cheek, then pulled him close to herself again and whispered in his ear, 

"I weesh you many, many, years of 'appiness and love 'ere, mon ami." 

Harry gripped her as tightly and replied, 

"Thank you, Fleur, for everything. You'll just have to visit frequently to check up on me." 

Fleur released Harry enough to lean back and look deeply into his green eyes with her brilliant blue and said, 

"Do not theenk that I weell not, chère." 

"Harry, it's just beautiful," Bill added. "Ginny and Abagail really outdid themselves." 

"Yes, they did. I still have trouble believing it's real," Harry said as he reached up to take Victoire's hand in his. 

Fleur stepped behind her husband to undo the straps that kept her daughter in place and then lifted her from the pack. The little girl reached for Harry and he took her from her mother and held her close, getting the miniature version of her mother's hug. Without relinquishing his hold on his niece he led the way up to the front door. The door swung open and Kreacher bowed them in. 

"Oh, 'arry. Eet ees even more beautiful on the eenside." 

"I know. I've spent the last few nights just wandering around taking it all in. The design, the workmanship. If I called it a dream come true I'd be wrong because I never dreamed of anything like this," Harry said quietly as they made their way towards the kitchen. 

For the next several hours variations on this theme played out as more and more people arrived. Hermione and Ron came with Mr. and Mrs. Granger by car. The rest either Disapparated to the front lawn or flew in from the direction of the Burrow. Bill and Fleur had taken the only cross country flight under cover of an invisibility charm that Bill had discovered some years earlier in his work for Gringotts. He called it a fringe benefit.